Description: PRINTS BOOKS PHOTOGRAPHS MANUSCRIPTS CURIOSITIES - "LITTLE OR NOTHING CAN BE DONE HERE [IN NEW YORK] WITHOUT SOCIAL INFLUENCE, BUT TO ATTAIN THAT YOU MUST BRING A LETTER FROM A LORD AND I ONLY KNOW ONE... MODERN EGNLISH ART IS LESS ESTEEMED THAN THE FRENCH SCHOOL, BUT THE OLD ENGLISH MASTERS (REYNOLDS, LAWRENCE, ROMNEY ETC.) STAND IN HIGH COURSE. THEY ARE SUPPOSED TO CONFER BREVET RANK OF TASTE UPON THE OWNERS AND TO SUGGEST A FAMILY CONNECTION WITH THE ENGLISH NOBILITY AND GENTRY..." -TOFT (Peter Petersen, auto-didactic Danish painter and sailor, as well as Californian gold miner and adventurer, 1825-1901); LUCAS (John Seymour, English artist, in 1898 elected to the Royal Academy, 1849-1923).Long and highly interesting letter hand-written and signed by artist, Californian outdoorsman and gold miner Peter Petersen Toft in New York to fellow artist John Seymour Lucas in England, reminiscing on his time in America and the pitfalls of high society patronage, March 1898. Original letter from Peter Pedersen Toft, on 4 sides of two integral leaves of off-white writing paper with red printed / illustrated header 'R.M.S Germanic'. In black ink, signed on last page 'P. Toft'. With the original New York post-marked and addressed envelope, with black wax seal on the reverse. Addressed at head of first page 'Sinclair House, Broadway, 8th Street. New York.' and dated 'March 2/-98' Addressed to 'My dear Lucas' and docketed to him at head 'Seymour Lucas Esq R.A.' Third and final pages written horizontally. Size: (each page) - 20.4cm x 12.7cm.Very Good condition. Fold for mailing. In very nice condition. Envelope with tear along top edge where opened, with loss of some of the front postmark. Please ask if you require a more detailed condition report, or view gallery images.After congratulating Lucas on his election as a Royal Academician, the Danish artist and sailor Peter Toft - who had just arrived in New York after a choppy voyage from England on the R.M.S. Germanic - proceeds to discuss a range of topics, in a highly eloquent and engaging way, from patronism amongst the city's upper class, to the impending war with Spanish Cuba.Toft was a self-taught painter who led a fascinating life, including time in the American West in the 1850s and 1860s, where he mined for gold and became an archetypal Californian outdoorsman. He first arrived in San Francisco aboard the U.S.S Ohio in the Spring of 1850 under U.S. Navy Commodore Thomas Catesby Jones. While relatively little is known about his time in California, he was remembered as a 'miner, a painter, draughtsman, writer for newspaper, magazines, theatres, etc., a traveler and naturalist; ever industrious, obliging and amiable.' [T.A. Barry and B.A. Patten, Men and Memories of San Francisco in the 'Spring of '50', San Francisco, A.L. Bancroft & Company, 1873, p. 185]. Provenance: From the personal archives of John Seymour Lucas. key words:
Price: 375 GBP
Location: Ascot
End Time: 2025-01-01T15:29:23.000Z
Shipping Cost: 30.58 GBP
Product Images
Item Specifics
Return postage will be paid by: Buyer
Returns Accepted: Returns Accepted
After receiving the item, your buyer should cancel the purchase within: 30 days
Non-Fiction Subject: The Arts
Year Printed: 1898
Country/Region of Manufacture: United States
Binding: Unbound
Original/Reproduction: Original
Illustrator: John Seymour Lucas
Author: Peter Petersen Toft
Original/Facsimile: Original
Language: English
Place of Publication: Broadway, New York
Special Attributes: Inscribed, Manuscript
